Description

The shoes that you make from this kit will be flexible, minimalist, and ecological: in other words, they will be “a step in the right direction”.

Imagine – they aren’t made 10,000 miles away in a factory that is unhealthy for its exploited workers, from materials that are toxic and that will never biodegrade. Instead they’ll be locally made with your good energy.

You will make a felt mock-up to get the fit right, then neatly cut out the leather, punch out about 250 holes with a punch, then stitch the shoe upper parts together. Finally, when stitching the uppers to the soles, you will need to have the strength to pull the stitches tight.

These are center-seam shoes in women’s sizes 6-10, meaning that there’s a seam down the front (vamp) of the shoe; they also have a seam down the heel. You can make them in a standard size using the patterns in this kit, or you can custom-make your patterns, using the directions that are also included.

A set of patterns for making one-piece (no “center-seam”) shoes is also included.

These shoes have a sole that I call the “basic nomoc”. (Nomocs are similar to moccasins in their construction, but they’re not moccasins.) The sole has holes punched around its edge to which the upper gets stitched. The sole consists of two layers – the bottom layer is natural rubber from a latex tree.

The top sole and the upper part of the shoe are made of discontinued upholstery leather samples and remnants. The upper is lined, since upholstery leather is usually somewhat thin.

If you choose to use a drive punch, you will also need a rubber or other mallet to hit it with, and a wood end-cut board, thick plastic cutting board or end of log to place under the piece you are punching holes in.